CONSUMER PROTECTION MEASURES

European measures for consumer protection are intended to protect the health and
safety, and economic and legal interests of European consumers, wherever they
live, travel or shop in the EU. EU provisions regulate both physical transactions
and e-commerce, and contain rules of general applicability together with provisions
targeting specific products, including medicines, genetically modified organisms,
tobacco products, cosmetics, toys and explosives.

LEGAL BASIS
Articles 114 and 169 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

OBJECTIVES
To ensure that all consumers in the Union - wherever they live, travel or shop in the
EU - enjoy a high common level of protection against risks and threats to their safety
and economic interests, and to increase the ability of consumers to defend their own
interests.

ACHIEVEMENTS
A. Protection of consumers’ health and safety
1. EU actions in the field of public health and tobacco (2.2.4)
2. Foodstuffs (2.2.6)
3. Medicinal products (2.2.5)
4. General Product Safety System and market surveillance
Directive 2001/95/EC provides for a General Product Safety System whereby any
consumer product put on the market, even if it is not covered by specific sector
legislation, must meet certain standards relating to the provision of information to
consumers, measures to avoid threats to safety, monitoring of product safety, and
traceability. If a product poses a serious threat necessitating quick action, the relevant
Member State must immediately inform the Commission via RAPEX, a system for
the rapid exchange of information between Member States and the Commission. In
June 2021 the Commission adopted a proposal for a regulation on general product
safety with a view to revising the General Product Safety Directive (GPSD) The
proposed regulation will ensure continuity with the GPSD by requiring that consumer
products be ‘safe’, setting certain obligations for economic operators, including online

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marketplaces, and setting out provisions for the development of standards in support
of the general safety requirement. It will update and modernise the general framework
for the safety of non-food consumer products and ensure a level playing field for
businesses.
5. Safety of cosmetic products, explosives for civilian use and toys
Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 ensures the safety of cosmetic products, together
with consumer protection, by providing for ingredient inventories and informative
labelling. Most of the regulation’s provisions were applicable by 11 July 2013.
Safety requirements for explosives for civilian use and similar products are set out
in Directives 93/15/EEC, 2008/43/EC and 2004/57/EC, and in Decision 2004/388/
EC, recast by the Explosives for Civil Uses Directive (2014/28/EU) and by the
Pyrotechnic Articles Directive (2013/29/EU). Toy safety requirements are laid down in
Directive 2009/48/EC. The European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) revises and
develops the relevant standards.
6. Affordable communications for businesses and consumers (2.1.8)
B. Protection of consumers’ economic interests
1. Information society services, electronic commerce and electronic and cross-
border payments
Directive 2000/31/EC (the E-Commerce Directive) covers the liability of providers
(established in the EU) of online services, online electronic transactions, and other
online activities, such as the provision of news, database and financial services,
professional services, entertainment services (video on demand), direct marketing
and advertising services, and internet access. It will be modernised by the upcoming
Digital Services Act. Directive (EU) 2015/2366 on cross-border credit transfers and
Regulation (EU) 2021/1230 on cross-border payments ensure that charges for cross-
border payments in euros are the same as those for payments made in that currency
within a Member State.
2. TV without frontiers
Directive 2010/13/EU ensures the free movement of broadcasting services while
preserving certain public interest objectives, such as cultural diversity, the right of reply,
consumer protection and the protection of minors. Its provisions relate to, for example,
advertisements for alcoholic beverages, tobacco and medicines, teleshopping, and
programmes involving pornography or extreme violence. Events of major importance
for society are to be broadcast freely in un-encoded form, even if exclusive rights have
been purchased by pay TV channels.
3. Distance selling contracts and contracts negotiated away from business
premises, the sale of goods and guarantees, and unfair terms in contracts
As of 13 June 2014, the Consumer Rights Directive (2011/83/EU) replaced Council
Directive 85/577/EEC and Directive 97/7/EC. It also amended Council Directive 93/13/
EEC on unfair contract terms and Directive 1999/44/EC on certain aspects of the
sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees. It strengthened consumer rights,
establishing rules on the information to be provided to consumers, regulating the right

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of withdrawal and harmonising certain contractual provisions. Directive 2002/65/EC
regulates the distance marketing of consumer financial services.
4. Unfair commercial practices and comparative and misleading advertising
Directive 2005/29/EC on unfair commercial (business-to-consumer) practices prohibits
misleading and aggressive practices, ‘sharp practices’ (such as pressure selling,
misleading marketing and unfair advertising) and practices which use coercion
as a means of selling. It includes criteria for determining aggressive commercial
practices (harassment, coercion and undue influence) and a ‘blacklist’ of unfair
commercial practices. Directive 2006/114/EC concerning misleading and comparative
advertising prohibits misleading advertisements. It also lays down the conditions
under which comparative advertising is permitted. A Commission communication of
27 November 2012 (COM(2012)0702) proposed a review of Directive 2006/114/EC
to tackle the loopholes in the text and focus on the problem of misleading directory
companies. At the end of 2019, the new Directive (EU) 2019/2161 was adopted as
regards the better enforcement and modernisation of Union consumer protection rules.
This new directive amended Council Directive 93/13/EEC (on unfair terms in consumer
contracts) and Directives 98/6/EC (on consumer protection in the indication of the
prices of products offered to consumers), 2005/29/EC (concerning unfair business-to-
consumer commercial practices in the internal market) and 2011/83/EU (on consumer
rights) of the European Parliament and of the Council. With regard to unfair practices,
in April 2022, the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO)
held a public hearing on upholding consumer rights when shopping outside the EU,
seeking to map out the challenges consumers face when buying from outside the EU.
5. Liability for defective products and price indication
Directive 1999/34/EC establishes the principle of objective liability or liability without
fault of the producer in cases of damage caused by a defective product. The
injured consumer seeking compensation needs to prove the damage, a defect in the
product and a causal link, within three years. Directive 98/6/EC on unit prices obliges
traders to indicate sale prices and prices per measurement unit in order to improve
and simplify comparisons of price and quantity between products on the market.
Directive 1999/44/EC establishes product guarantees for consumers by requiring
traders selling consumer goods in the EU to remedy defects which existed at the time
of delivery and which become apparent within two years. This directive was updated
in 2011, then repealed and replaced by Directive (EU) 2019/771.
6. Consumer credit and mortgage credit
Directive 2008/48/EC ensures that creditors have to use the same Standard European
Consumer Credit Information, i.e. a form containing all relevant information about
the contract, including the cost of credit and the annual percentage rate charged.
Consumers are allowed to withdraw from a credit agreement without giving any
reason within a period of 14 days after the conclusion of the contract and they can
repay their credit early at any time, while the creditor can ask for fair and objectively
justified compensation. In June 2021, the European Commission proposed an update
to the existing rules (COM(2021)0347). The proposal extends the scope of the current
Consumer Credit Directive to cover a wider range of products which may pose a risk

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to consumers. It also promotes a reduction in the amount of information provided to
consumers in advertising and focuses on how and when pre-contractual information
is presented to consumers. The proposal also improves the rules through which
creditworthiness is assessed, and asks Member States to promote financial education
and ensure that debt advice is made available to consumers.
Directive 2014/17/EU on credit agreements for consumers relating to residential
immovable property lays down a common framework for agreements covering
consumer credit secured by a mortgage or otherwise relating to a residential immovable
property. It aims to create an efficient single mortgage market for the benefit of
consumers, and establishes conditions to ensure a high level of professionalism on the
part of lenders and credit intermediaries[1].
7. Package holidays and timeshare properties
Directive (EU) 2015/2302 protects consumers’ core rights when booking a package
holiday or other forms of combined travel, for example, where a booking is
made on a website for a self-chosen combination of a flight plus hotel or car
rental. Directive 2008/122/EC on timeshares, long-term holiday products, resale and
exchange covers the trader’s obligation to provide information on the constituent parts
of the contract, and the consumer’s right to withdraw without any costs and without
giving any reason, within 14 calendar days.
8. Air transport
Regulations (EC) No 261/2004 and (EC) No 2027/97 (as amended) established
common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied
boarding, cancellation or long flight delays, and on air carrier liability in the event of
accident. Regulation (EC) No 80/2009 on computerised reservation systems (CRS) for
air transport products established obligations for system vendors (to allow all carriers
to participate on an equal basis) and for carriers (to communicate with equal care and
timely information to all systems). Regulation (EC) No 80/2009 introduced common
criteria and procedures for establishing the airfares and air cargo rates charged by air
carriers on air services within the Community. Regulation (EC) No 300/2008 introduced
common rules in the field of civil aviation security standards following the terrorist
attacks of 11 September 2001.
9. Energy markets
The third package of EU energy market legislation (adopted in 2009) was enacted
to improve the functioning of the internal energy market and resolve structural
problems. It covered five main areas, including increased transparency in retail
markets in order to benefit consumers. Directive 2012/27/EU empowers energy
consumers to better manage consumption by ensuring easy and free access to data
on consumption through individual metering. Regulation (EU) 2017/1369 is intended
to ensure that complex information on the energy consumption and performance of
specified domestic appliances is presented in a clear and understandable format,
allowing consumers to make informed purchasing decisions so that they can opt for the

[1]Relevant research includes Wiewiórowska A. et al., Contribution to Growth: Legal Aspects of Protecting European
Consumers, Publication for the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, Policy Department for Economic,
Scientific and Quality of Life Policies, European Parliament, Luxembourg, 2019.

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most efficient appliances. Within the EU’s internal energy market, all EU citizens have
the right to have their homes connected to energy networks and to choose freely any
gas or electricity supplier offering services in their area.
10. European Consumer Centres Network (ECC Network or ‘Euroguichets’) and
Your Europe Portal
The ECC Network provides consumers with information and assistance in respect
of cross-border transactions. This network also works with other European networks,
notably FIN-NET (financial), SOLVIT (internal market) and the European judicial
network in civil and commercial matters. The Your Europe portal provides
comprehensive information for consumers on contract rights, telecom and internet
services, financial products and services, possible unfair treatment, energy supply and
consumer dispute resolution. Further improvements were introduced with the Single
Digital Gateway (Regulation (EU) 2018/1724).
C. Protection of consumers’ legal interests
1. Alternative dispute resolution procedures and online dispute resolution
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedures are out-of-court settlement
mechanisms that help consumers and traders solve conflicts, mostly through a
third party, e.g. a mediator, arbitrator or ombudsman. Recommendation 98/257/EC,
Decision 20/2004/EC and Council Resolution 2000/C 155/01 lay down the principles
to be followed in ADR proceedings, aimed at guaranteeing the individual consumer
cheaper and faster remedies. Directive 2009/22/EC on injunctions for the protection
of consumers’ interests harmonises existing EU and national law and, in order to
protect the collective interests of consumers, introduces the ‘action for injunctions’,
which can be opened at the competent national court level against infringements
by commercial operators from other countries. Directive 2013/11/EU on alternative
dispute resolution for consumer disputes gives consumers the possibility of turning to
quality alternative dispute resolution entities for all kinds of contractual disputes with
businesses over an online or offline, domestic or cross-border purchase. Regulation
(EU) No 524/2013 on online dispute resolution enables EU consumers and traders to
settle online disputes concerning domestic and cross-border purchases, through an
EU-wide dispute resolution platform to which ADR bodies have been able to sign up
since February 2016.
2. European judicial network in civil and commercial matters and obligation for
national authorities to cooperate
Decision 2001/470/EC established a European judicial network to simplify the life
of citizens facing cross-border litigation by improving the mechanisms for judicial
cooperation between Member States in civil and commercial matters and providing
them with practical information to facilitate their access to justice. Regulation (EC)
No 2006/2004 established a network of national authorities responsible for the effective
enforcement of EU consumer protection law and, since 29 December 2005, has obliged
them to cooperate in guaranteeing the enforcement of EU law and, in the case of intra-
EU infringements, to stop any infringement by means of appropriate legal instruments
such as injunctions.

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3. Representative actions for the protection of the collective interests of consumers
Directive 2009/22/EC harmonised actions for an injunction aimed at the protection of
the collective interests of consumers. Directive 2014/104/EU ensured that anyone who
has suffered harm caused by an infringement of competition law can effectively exercise
the right to claim full compensation. Directive (EU) 2020/1828 expanded the scope
of the injunctions system in order to cover various horizontal and sector-specific EU
instruments relevant to the protection of the collective interests of consumers and laid
down procedures for compensatory redress.
D. Measures implemented following the COVID-19 outbreak
Due to the increasing irregularities in online offers throughout the pandemic, consumer
protection authorities in the Member States, with the support of the Commission, issued
a Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) common position asking online platforms to
take effective measures to remove illegal marketing campaigns. A joint communication
entitled ‘Tackling COVID-19 disinformation – Getting the facts right’ also highlighted the
need to fight against disinformation to protect consumers.
Due to disruptions caused by the reintroduction of border controls and travel
restrictions, the Commission issued guidelines on 18 March 2020 to ensure that EU
consumers’ rights are applied in a coherent manner across the EU. The EU is the only
area in the world where citizens are protected by a full set of passenger rights – whether
they travel by air, rail, ship, bus or coach. Carriers have to offer reimbursement (refund
of tickets) or re-routing to passengers whose service has been cancelled.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Parliament is actively involved in developing and strengthening EU consumer
protection legislation while balancing the interests of the markets with those of
consumers. Consumer protection measures are encapsulated by the New Consumer
Agenda, 2020-2025, as well as the New Deal for Consumers, the European Green
Deal and the Circular Economy Action Plan, among other initiatives.
European consumers are also beneficiaries of actions and instruments aimed at
strengthening various aspects of the EU internal market. These include a significant
number of instruments developed as a part of the digital single market initiative,
combining strictly consumer-oriented measures with market design measures: the
Regulations on Roaming Charges, the Regulation on the Promotion of Internet
Connectivity in Local Communities, the Regulation on the Portability of Online Content,
the Cross-border Parcel Delivery Regulation, the General Data Protection Regulation,
the Geo-blocking Regulation, the European Electronic Communications Code, the
Regulation on the Free Flow of Non-personal Data, and the Directive on Copyright in
the Digital Single Market[2].
Parliament called for a revision of the General Product Safety Directive in its resolution
of 25 November 2020 on addressing product safety in the single market. It urged

[2]Relevant research includes Wiewiórowska A. et al., Contribution to Growth: Legal Aspects of Protecting European
Consumers, Publication for the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, Policy Department for Economic,
Scientific and Quality of Life Policies, European Parliament, Luxembourg, 2019.

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the Commission to update and establish aligned market surveillance rules for both
harmonised and non-harmonised products placed on the market offline or online, and
to make them fit for the digital age, and to adapt product safety rules to tackle the
challenges of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, connected products
and robotics.
Parliament has held many debates concerning consumer protection in the light of
the digital revolution. At the request of the IMCO Committee, a workshop entitled ‘E-
commerce rules, fit for the digital age‘ was organised by the Policy Department for
Economic, Scientific and Quality of Life Policies on 18 February 2020, accompanied
by a number of studies[3] on the future Digital Services Act. Experts and stakeholders
insisted on the need to put in place strong consumer protection measures for online
marketplaces via the Digital Services Act.
A wide variety of research has been undertaken recently in relation to consumer
protection. On 27 October 2020, a study[4] entitled ‘Loot boxes in online games and
their effect on consumers, in particular young consumers’ was presented to Members
followed by question and answer sessions. Loot boxes are features in video games
which are usually accessed through gameplay, or which may be optionally paid for with
real-world money. As they make use of random reward mechanisms, there is concern
that loot boxes may function as a gateway to gambling, and may be particularly harmful
to young consumers.
A briefing[5] published in January 2021 entitled ‘Reimbursement and compensation in
case of transport cancellation or delay: rights and their enforcement’ outlines consumer
rights under EU law in the event of transport cancellation with specific reference to the
COVID-19 pandemic, as well as providing practical guidance for consumers.
A study[6] on the impact of targeted advertising on advertisers, market access and
consumer choice explored the dynamics of the online advertising market. In relation
to consumer protection, it analysed how features such as personalised advertising,
micro-targeted and behavioural advertising, and digital nudging may impact prices and
consumer choice. The study found that targeting techniques may benefit consumers
by tailoring advertisements to their interests. Targeted advertising also raises a number
of concerns, however. These include a lack of transparency on consumer data usage,
the targeting of vulnerable groups of consumers, and design features which seek to
steer consumers to make decisions at odds with their interests (dark patterns). With
regard to dark patterns in particular, in March 2022, the IMCO Committee held a public
hearing aiming to identify the risks that this practice entails for consumers.

[3]Maciejewski M., Blandin L., Digital Services Act: Opportunities and Challenges for the Digital Single Market and Consumer
Protection, Publication for the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, Policy Department for Economic,
Scientific and Quality of Life Policies, European Parliament, Luxembourg, 2020.
[4]Cerulli-Harms, A. et al., Loot boxes in online games and their effect on consumers, in particular young consumers, Publication
for the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, Policy Department for Economic, Scientific and Quality of
Life Policies, European Parliament, Luxembourg, 2020.
[5]Maciejewski, M. et al., Reimbursement and compensation in case of transport cancellation or delay: rights and their
enforcement, Publication for the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, Policy Department for Economic,
Scientific and Quality of Life Policies, European Parliament, Luxembourg, 2021.
[6]Fourberg, N et al., Online advertising: the impact of targeted advertising on advertisers, market access and consumer choice,
Publication for the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, Policy Department for Economic, Scientific and
Quality of Life Policies, European Parliament, Luxembourg, 2021.

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On 28 October 2021, the IMCO Committee held a public hearing on dual quality of
goods in the single market. Experts (e.g. from consumer associations and business
organisations) highlighted the challenges that dual quality practices have created, both
for consumers and the industry, for example in terms of consumer information about
the differentiation of goods. They also discussed how to raise consumer awareness
of the issue.
A month later, on 9 December 2021, the IMCO Committee voted on the draft
implementation report on the Toy Safety Directive to ensure that only safe toys can be
placed on the Union’s market.
In February 2022, a study[7] on the impact of influencers on advertising and
consumer protection in the single market was published. It investigates to what extent
influencers are responsible for spreading misleading information and the promotion of
unsafe products. The influencer marketing industry, which has grown significantly in
recent years, often employs misleading messages to draw in vulnerable consumers.
The recent provisional political agreements on the Digital Services Act and the
Digital Markets Act focus on increasing transparency and regulating online platform
gatekeepers respectively, two sensitive areas in the sphere of activity of influencers.

Christina Ratcliff / Barbara Martinello / Vasileios Litos

07/2022

[7]Michaelsen, F., Collini, L. et. al., The impact of influencers on advertising and consumer protection in the Single Market,
Publication for the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, Policy Department for Economic, Scientific and
Quality of Life Policies, European Parliament, Luxembourg, 2022.

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